Early Voting Begins
This information is republished from the Supervisor of Elections website:
Gainesville City Election
March 24th, 2009
You must be a City of Gainesville resident to vote in this election. Florida Law requires that you present picture and signature identification in order to vote, or vote a provisional ballot.
Early Voting for the City of Gainesville Election will be available Monday, March 16, 2009 through Saturday, March 21, 2009.
Weekdays
Monday – Friday (9:00 am to 5:00 pm)
March 16, 2009 through March 20, 2009
Weekend
Saturday – (9:00 am to 5:00 pm)
March 21, 2009 (early voting ends)
Early Voting Site
Supervisor of Elections Office
County Administration Building
12 SE 1st Street, Gainesville
And this is what I have to say about it. The Millhopper Branch of the public library, which is usually used for early voting, in out of commission at this time, and it has been for months. That means the only place where early voting can be done is at the Supervisor of Elections Office, which is a nightmare to get in and out of during the week. This may skew turnout heavily in favor of whoever gets students out to vote. Students usually don’t participate at a very high level, last election notwithstanding, so it may be a wash.
But the availability of another site with good access and parking could have helped turnout in the more suburban areas. Of course, City Hall is quite interested in seeing that a NO vote on Charter One gets all the breaks it can get. They decided how the amendment would be worded, and that has been sufficiently confusing enough. Tamping down the turnout in the suburbs might also help them out.
I expect a lot of absentee ballots this year. Although I have not voted that way before, some voters have told me they get theirs automatically now. I was surprised to hear this. They have also voted already; even earlier than what early voting would have allowed.
